Last August, Netflix released a live-action adaptation of the anime hit One Piece: 62M views later, the Los Gatos-based firm commissioned a second season of the show. Aside from its popular success, the series is also the result of the collaboration between Netflix teams from both the US and Japan, who worked closely with One Piece’s creator, Eiichiro Oda. Continent-wise, national Asian OTT champions expand beyond their borders, helped by public funding which guarantees significant numbers of local titles produced. But what strategies do such players adopt to push their catalog to the other side of the Pacific? Conversely, how do US-based players adapt to fulfill the US audiences’ growing appetite for Asian content?

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During the last quarter earnings call, Bob Iger confirmed that Disney remains “on track to roll out a more unified one-app experience domestically, making extensive general entertainment content available to bundle subscribers via Disney+.” A beta version of such a unified app should be available next month in the US. This announcement follows long-awaited Disney’s decision to acquire Comcast’s shares in Hulu, to take full ownership of the platform. If Disney’s long-term strategy for its combination of streaming services remains unclear, should it be in terms of branding, distribution, or international expansion, let’s still try to shed some light on the immediate benefits of such a move.

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